Auto Review: Maximum fun with a Mini Cooper

Bill HealdReminder News

Auto Review: Maximum fun with a Mini Cooper

Engineers love to improve things, and with the often-contrary goals of performance vs. fuel efficiency and ride comfort vs. handling, it's a challenging job to get the balance right. When you toss in the need to maintain the iconic look and feel of a classic design, it's very delicate work addressing all the needs and design objectives you're faced with while creating a new version of a car. The 2014 Mini Cooper is a perfect example of how to do this right, for almost every aspect of the car is tweaked and improved, yet it still looks completely familiar and has the same intense fun-to-drive factor built right in. The changes include making the car slightly bigger, creating new engines along with fresh chassis and suspension tuning, and alterations to the interior. The end result is not improvement in just a few areas, but a better overall driving experience in an already-premium compact car.

The new Mini Cooper maintains its front-drive architecture, but the wheelbase has been expanded to 98.2 inches and the car is 4.5 inches longer overall. It's also wider and taller than its predecessor, but the proportions are maintained so the car retains its classic look. The new standard engine is anything but ordinary: a 1.5-liter TwinPower Turbocharged Inline Triple with all of the latest technology, to yield 134 horsepower and a very satisfying power curve. The even sportier "S" version gets a 2-liter Inline Four (also of the TwinPower Turbocharged variety with 189 horsepower). A six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transaxle are available, and our test beast Mini Cooper had the manual gearbox that was a perfect mate to the three-cylinder engine. Don't let the modest displacement of this powerplant fool you; it's quite perky and a brilliant combination of tractability and fuel efficiency. It also has the engine stop feature, meaning the engine shuts down at stops to conserve fuel (when conditions are right) and fires up immediately when you need to move. Handling is still the Mini's strongest attribute and with suspension tweaks is sharper than ever, while delivering a very compliant ride. I still prefer this tuning to the sport suspension option, which can get harsh on rough roads. To say the Mini is a really enjoyable machine to hustle around is still an understatement, as it really is the compact benchmark for straightening curvy stretches of road.

The interior of the Mini is much improved, with the elimination of the Frisbee-sized central speedometer and changes to the switch placement. The control layout is more logical now, and the instrument cluster is over the steering wheel, where it seems to work best. The high roofline means good interior headroom, and this includes the rear seat which is tolerable for two adults. With the rear seatbacks folded, you have 34 cubic feet of cargo space to increase the versatility of this unique, entertaining ride.

The 2014 Mini Cooper Hardtop is EPA rated 30 MPG city/42 highway and has a base price of $19,950. With options, our sticker came to $22.145. http://www.miniusa.com